Video Interview: QuickTime   Windows Media

The presence of a nonstop flight between Atlanta and Tel Aviv, Israel, is an important factor in attracting Israeli businesses to Georgia, said Uriel Lynn, president of the Federation of Israeli Chambers of Commerce. 

Mr. Lynn, who visited Atlanta recently to speak at a seminar hosted by the American-Israel Chamber of Commerce Southeast Region, said that the flight by Delta Air Lines Inc. is convenient for both tourists and businesspeople. 

He added that in his extensive experience in Israel—as a legislator, lawyer and board member for numerous companies—he has noticed that it is more difficult to “develop business relationships” with regions that are not connected to Israel by direct flights.

“If I have to fly over to Atlanta through New York, it’s going to take me six more hours,” Mr. Lynn told GlobalAtlanta in a video interview at the Metro Atlanta Chamber of Commerce.  “The very fact that I can fly directly: I can say that from my point of view it’s very important in deciding to come over here.”

Mr. Lynn’s organization is a non-partisan umbrella group that represents city chambers of commerce with a combined total of more than 15,000 member companies throughout Israel.  He came to Atlanta at the invitation of Tom Glaser, president of the American Israel Chamber, to speak at the “Latest Trends in U.S.-Israel Business: Taking It to the Next Level” conference.

Although he said it was difficult to describe the changes since his last visit to Atlanta almost 30 years ago, Mr. Lynn did say that he has found chambers of commerce here to be especially enthusiastic about creating and maintaining business ties with Israel. 

“I find that Atlanta’s Israeli chamber of commerce is one of the most effective chambers of commerce, and also the local metro chamber of commerce in Atlanta is very strong, very hard-driven, and that’s why it’s so interesting for us to develop the relationship with them,” he said.  “It’s not that easy to do it with other chambers of commerce.”

It’s not the absolute best market, Mr. Lynn said, but the Southeast U.S. is a good place for Israel’s companies and export products, with most of the opportunities coming in the technology and biotechnology industries, along with investments in the petroleum industry and real estate.

Mr. Glaser said that about 45 Israeli companies have national or regional bases of operations in Atlanta.

“Atlanta is certainly one of the top five spots for Israeli companies to set up and do business in,” he told GlobalAtlanta, noting that large Atlanta companies like Coca-Cola Co. have seen success in Israel as well. 

Mr. Lynn studied law at the University of California, Berkeley, so he is familiar with America.  During his time in California, Mr. Lynn gained an affinity for country music, which he said has gained popularity in Israel over the years.  He told GlobalAtlanta that he would be visiting Nashville, Tenn., for a day before taking another Delta flight back to Israel.

See videos for more about Mr. Lynn’s opinions about Atlanta’s business climate and the state of the Israeli economy.